(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement on a breakpoint setting function of a debugger tool used for program development.
(2) Description of the Related Art
A debugger is a type of support software used to find and correct errors or bugs in a program. A debugger provides functions of, for example, halting execution of a program at certain points in the source code, and outputting the values held in variables at the halted point. The point at which the execution of the program is made to halt is called a breakpoint.
Breakpoints are set by a programmer in a source code at points where, for example, corrections are made. Most of known debuggers allow a programmer to easily set breakpoints on a source code displayed on an editor. In one example, a programmer is allowed to set a breakpoint in a source code with a click of a mouse on any point of the source code displayed on the editor. Set breakpoints are indicated with markers or other symbols displayed on the editor.
To be more specific, a debugger inserts, for example, an interruption instruction into a program at a point corresponding to a breakpoint set by a programmer. Consequently, control is passed to the debugger at the interruption instruction so that variables or stacks at the time can be checked. To resume processing currently at a halt, the debugger deletes the interruption command from the program to bring it back into the original state, so that the program re-starts.
As above, conventional debuggers require a programmer to set breakpoints as necessary, which imposes a burden on the programmer. For example, to set a breakpoint at a point where a correction is made, a programmer is required to make a breakpoint for each correction made, or to set a breakpoint at each corrected point all at once after completing all the corrections. Both procedures impose a burden on the programmer as the former requires the programmer to go through debugging and breakpoint setting alternately, and the latter requires the programmer to remember all the corrections he has made.